The Ice Queen
by Webidolchiu94
Summary: AU. Elsa wants to become a hermit. Anna disagrees. So does Kristoff. What if Anna's Frozen Heart turns out to do something entirely different than in cannon?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: An Open Door

Despite the shining sun, the air was unnaturally chilly. Something floating about in the atmosphere was blocking the sun from warming up this sudden, eternal winter. Snow had covered the entire landscape in several quilted layers—as if it were trying to clothe the land in coldness instead of warmth.

Anna stared at the imposing door of ice that had sprung up overnight. With muted awe, Anna's sky blue eyes traced the intricate patterns and designs of the castle before them. She had not been here to witness the beauty of creating such a magnificent structure, but if she had, then surely she would have been even more impressed than she already was.

"Why isn't she knocking?"asked Olaf, looking 'round at Kristoff. "Do you think she knows how to knock?"

Biting her lip, Anna stepped closer to the door and lifted her arm.

_Knock-Knock-Knocknock-knock_

Loneliness echoed throughout the glittering castle.

The doors creaked open, and a rush of cold air flowed out. A blast of white mist hung around the three travelers.

Anna looked at the sight of the open door and almost gasped.

"…wha. It opened. That's a first." Anna stepped forward to enter the castle, but when she noticed Kristoff, the Princess stopped walking. "Um…wait." Anna looked off to the side. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but you should probably wait out here."

Kristoff, looking hurt, stopped walking. "What? Why?"

"Yeah, the last time I introduced her to a man, she froze everything."

As he contemplated this, Anna started once again to enter the castle.

"But wait! It's a palace made of _ice._ Ice is my whole life!"

Anna rolled her eyes. "_FINE._ Just don't blame **me** if you get turned into an ice sculpture." And with that she sauntered into the palace, her pigtails swishing.

The foyer of the castle was semi-translucent, as if the entire thing was crafted from pure crystal. When the sunlight hit it, millions of tiny rainbows arced around the floor, shaping into warped fractal. This only complimented the beauty of the snowflake design already etched into the flooring.

In the middle of the foyer hung a jagged chandelier the size of a large reindeer. Right near it was a large double staircase that ascended into a whole other level.

While she stood in the shadows, Elsa lurked around the far end of the room. She appeared to be contemplating something only moments before, but upon seeing Anna she smiled softly.

"Elsa, wow," said Anna, taking in the sparkling blue dress and recently liberated French braid. Her sister had changed overnight, quite literally. "You look…different. It's a good different, though." Feeling shy, the younger sister played with her mittens nervously. "And this place is amazing."

Not sure how to take this compliment, Elsa nodded stiffly. "Thank you. To be honest, I never really knew what I was truly capable of."

Realizing the meaning behind this statement, the younger sister frowned.

"I'm sorry Elsa. About what happened at the party, if I had known—," Anna reached out to her sister.

Elsa, self-conscious of her own power, backed away from the friendly outstretched hand. She could only look at her sister's freckled face and shake her head.

"N-no, it's alright. You don't have to apologize." Elsa's expression hardened over into a cold mask. "But you should probably go, please." Turning around on her heel, the Queen of Arendelle stalked off towards the stairs.

Incredulous, the Princess of Arendelle proceeded to follow her. "But I just got here!"

"Excuse me, Your Highness?" said Kristoff. Behind him, Olaf and Sven had also followed Anna into the castle, albeit reluctantly. Why Elsa hadn't noticed their presence was strange, but when they called attention to themselves, she seemed genuinely upset.

"Who are they?" said Elsa, backing up even more. She clasped her hands close to her chest. For some reason her head was feeling light, as if she were about to faint.

"Hi, I'm Olaf!" said the snowman, waddling to Anna's side. "I love warm hugs. Do you?"

An inkling of memory seemed to spark within Elsa's mind. "Olaf?" said the queen uncertainly.

"You built me. Don't you remember?" He seems to pout as if he were a child who was forgotten at the supermarket.

"A-and you're alive?"

All of this was too strange to comprehend. She looked at the living snowman before her, the strange unknown man that Anna had brought with her, and the large reindeer who was standing off to the side. Lastly, she looked at her sister. The lock of pure white was so stark against Anna's light brown hair. It didn't belong. Just like she didn't belong.

"You all belong in Arendelle," said Elsa, wishing for the solitude she had sought after.

"So do you," insisted Anna, holding out her hand again.

Withdrawing even more, Elsa shook her head again. "No. I belong here. Alone. I can be who I am without hurting anyone. I just **can't** go back." Elsa begins to depart once again, walking towards her bedroom within the castle, the gossamer ice sheets that make up her dress trail behind her in a gentle wave. "Goodbye Anna."

Anna followed her once again. "Elsa, wait—,"

Without looking behind her, Elsa continued to walk. "I'm just trying to protect you."

"You don't have to do that anymore! I'm not afraid. Please don't shut me out again, Elsa. Elsa!"

Her sister refused to listen. She is merely filled with pain and fear at her own inability to even control her powers.

Frustrated, Anna opened her mouth to sing.

[Don't slam that door again, don't leave me here alone.]

[You don't have to pretend anymore.]

[For the first time in forever, I truly understand.

[For the first time in forever, you'll rule our dear land.]

[We can return back to Arendelle, You, Olaf and me.]

[Cause the first time in forever, I have something in which I can believe.]

The two sisters finally arrived at Elsa's room. A crystalline paradise of shimmering archways and ice draped in sheets over the windows, mimicking curtains. Towering columns of ice were sporadically placed on the edges of the room.

|Anna, go back home. I'm not asking nicely. Your life will be more sunny, if you just abandon me.|

"But Elsa—,"

|You say you mean well, but just go and leave me be. I may be alone, but at least I'm free.|

|Just stay away, and you'll be safe from me.|

Clenching both her teeth and fists, Anna stopped singing long enough to blurt out the reason she came to retrieve her older sister. "But Arendelle is covered in snow, Elsa!"

The music stops, and everything seems to screech to a halt.

"What did you just say?" said Elsa, her eyes widening.

Anna sighed and said. "You sort of set off a winter in the middle of summer. Everywhere."

"Everywhere?" repeated Elsa in horror. She looked at her hands in utter confusion and gripped them to her chest in pain.

Holding up her hands, Anna tried to reassure her sister. "No, I mean, you can just unfreeze everything, right?"

"No, I can't. I mean, I just..._don't know how_."

Trying to sound encouraging, Anna smiled. "Sure you can. I know you can."

At this statement, Elsa clutched her chest. The anxiety already caused a rising pain in her throat. By this time, Kristoff and the rest had already followed her. The ice-obsessed man stood behind Anna, wondering just what kind of family drama was unfolding before him.

Meanwhile, as Elsa's anxiety builds at this revelation, snow began swirling around the room.

"You're not safe here," said Elsa, her panic causing the snow to thicken. It picked up more speed as it swirled in a tornado around her.

Kristoff and the others were hiding behind a column at this point, holding onto one another. This was something extraordinary to behold, but it also was terrifying. Ice, Kristoff knew, had a magic that was dangerous and awesome, but for the Queen of their country to have such power-it was too fantastic to be true.

Fighting through this whirlwind, Anna shielded her face from the whipping wind.

This couldn't be happening. How could she thaw out the town? Elsa had blamed herself for all this misfortune. Anna had almost died once before, because of her. Now the whole kingdom was suffering because of this terrible curse.

"Elsa, wait, we can make this right!" It was getting harder to walk through the wind.

"No!" shouted Elsa.

The maelstrom of snow withdrew, but only momentarily. A blast of freezing despair shot out in a wave of dark blue light. Shocked, Anna fell to her knees. A jolt of pain had wracked her entire body body the moment the light connected with her chest.

Gasping, she tried to climb to her feet. Kristoff sprinted over to her and gently helped Anna to stand.

"Are you okay?" He asked Anna this as she steadied her breathing and looked at her sister.

"I'm fine," replied Anna coldly.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Prince Albert, the Frozen

Albert Arendelle was the first official King of our fair Kingdom. A few years earlier, when he and his family founded this country, Albert fell into a tiny cold spot of trouble. At the time, he was nicknamed "Prince Albert,"although his family, despite being of ancient and noble blood, was not considered 'royal'.

He was an overall good kid. He helped the elderly often, and would go out of his way to gather firewood to help them heat their homes in the colder seasons. He was strong, but not burly, and would assist the men to hunt for big game in the months that food was scarce.

He had a twin sister named Agnes, but due to the ancient patriarchal laws of their family, she was not considered as an heir to the throne at the time. She was a kind person, much like her brother, but was slightly rebellious. She would often dress as a man and follow her brother wherever he went, much to the embarrassment of their parents.

For some reason they were never quite affected by the cold as much as their parents were, but instead, loved the brisk, biting air of winter.

One day the two siblings were playing in the snow. It was the morning of their sixteenth birthday, and as a special treat, their mother, Frejya, was making a feast. This feast was going to be one of her best yet, as she was going to make her infamous Double-Soaked Fruit Cake, which was the twins' favorite dessert.

They were rolling around in the snow, throwing wintery balls of ice at one another, when a large explosion rang out in the sky. Shocked by the noise, the twins stopped playing and looked up. Never before had such a noise occurred in their peaceful and quiet town. The most noise they ever heard was if a wagon fell off of a reindeer's harness.

A blast of dark blue light fell from the sky, faster than anyone's eyes could track it.

It hit both of the Arendelle Twins, and they blacked out.

* * *

Agnes drifted in and out of consciousness, she was aware of the worried mumbles. Voices floated above her sporadically. Her head was throbbing violently. But one thing certainly felt different, and it should have been obvious to her at first.

_"But they have been cursed..."_

_"... only the trolls..."_

_"Those BEASTS?"_

_"... he might die."_

When Agnes finally woke up, she felt too warm. Sweat was plastered on her forehead. Her whole body was clammy.

"Albert?"

The quilts heaped upon her refused to budge. Her eyes scrolled down to see something strange. A layer of ice coated the dark grey sheets, contributing to the immobility of her arms and legs.

"Agnes!" Almost immediately after Agnes had woken up, Frejya hurried to her daughter's bedside. She was a lithe and pale woman, with dark hair and crystal blue eyes.

Shifting around on her bed, Agnes struggled with her sheets. "Mom? What happened? It's so hot."

"Hot?" asked Frejya gently, "how could you possibly be too hot?" Concern colored her face.

Agnes couldn't focus on her mother's face for too long. She was too troubled about her twin brother. The last thing she remembered was the loud, earth-shattering noise, and the explosion of light that had surrounded them both. "Where's Albert?"

Staring for a few seconds at her daughter, Frejya sighed in utter exasperation. "Oh dear, it was _terrible_." The woman looked ready to cry any moment. As she spoke, Frejya began removing the heavy sheets covered in ice. As she removed them, the ice audibly cracked and splintered in her hands. "We found you two half covered in snow, surrounded by those awful beasts! We think—maybe you two were cursed."

Agnes sat upright and furrowed her brow. It took a few moments to realize what her mother was speaking of when she mentioned the 'awful beasts'.

"By the trolls? But they never bothered us before."

It was true. Agnes and her brother had seen the trolls several times before. The mystical beings would often observe the two of them while they hid in the shadows. Other than that, the shy creatures neither bothered the twins nor attempted to approach them.

"Where's Albert?" asked Agnes again, looking around the room. She shared it with her brother, but his bed was mysteriously missing.

Noticing her daughter's stare drifting over to where Albert's bed once was, Frejya sighed.

"Well, Agnes, dear, he did not fare as well as you did."

Not understanding what that meant, Agnes grew more exasperated. "But where is he?"

"He's in the den, near the fire. You began to sweat, so we moved you from there, but he has been asleep for quite a while. You as well."

Agnes thought over this for about a minute. "How long have we been asleep?"

Frejya forced a smile and tried to smooth out the sheets in front of her. "Don't worry, Agnes, we'll have the party when you two recover, but for now—,"

The girl had a feeling that her mother was trying to hide something from her.

"How long, mother?"

She couldn't get anything past her strong-willed daughter could she? Frejya wrinkled her brow and held her head.

"Two days."

* * *

Agnes did not pause to look at herself in the mirror. If she had, she would have noticed that her hair was now platinum blonde in appearance. She probably would have noticed that her eyes were now a vivid, almost glowing, blue.

Probably.

She was not vain with her looks. If there had been a pair of horns sticking out of her forehead, then it would have taken a whole week for her to notice.

Her brother, however, she noticed everything. His powder white hair and blued skin were the first things Agnes noticed. His constant shivering, despite being so close to the fire, was also a very bad sign.

The younger twin only needed to look at him for half a moment.

She stormed out the door without even putting on a coat or even a cloak. Her mother had tried to call after her and tell her how their father, Hans, had gone out to hunt the trolls in an effort to stop the curse. The girl didn't even stop to argue.

Her father was about to go and slaughter a whole race of sentient beings, just to save two of his children.

Why was this thing always happening? She had to go find her father and convince him to stop his rampage. Of course, that also entailed tracking down the trolls herself, in order to figure out how to save her brother. The trolls obviously knew something was wrong, and were trying to help them. For all Agnes knew, she probably was all right because of them.

Stalking off into the dark forest, Agnes waded through the snow—a flurry of cold air trailing behind her.


End file.
